A source said John Abraham has no plans to redevelop it and that he ‘just loved the place’

Mumbai: Actor John Abraham, one of the most prolific investors in Mumbai’s real estate, has purchased a bungalow in Bandra West for a reported Rs 84 crore.The bungalow, built in 1926, is owned by a Parsi family—the DeVitres—and is in a quiet lane called St Martin Road that connects Bandra’s landmark Turner Road to the bustling Hill Road. It has a nondescript name: 20, St Martin Road. It has four bedrooms, a large hall, a garden with fruit-bearing trees and an outhouse.Does the actor plan to redevelop the property? “He has no such plans. He just loved the place,’’ said a person aware of the transaction.Fredun DeVitre, co-owner of the property, told TOI: “The children have settled abroad, and they essentially wanted us to settle things now. The family was not keen on selling it to a developer, who would tear it down and build a tower.”In Dec 2023, Abraham purchased a bungalow on Linking Road, Khar, for Rs 75 crore. The property—372 Nirmal Bhavan—is a ground-plus-two storey structure, which belonged to Pravin Nathalal Shah and family. The plot is located in a prime area of Linking Road, which commands one of the highest commercial property rates in the city. Abraham is one of several Bollywood personalities who have heavily invested in real estate. In 2009, he bought a prime plot at Union Park near Petit School in Bandra West from a Parsi family, the Rattanshas.Property experts said many Bollywood celebrities invest in real estate, including luxury apartments, villas and commercial spaces for personal or investment reasons. Some have launched their own real estate firms or partnered with existing developers to create housing projects, resorts or other real estate ventures. Others have also forayed into interior design and home decor businesses. Property market and film industry sources said leading celebrities invest in residential and commercial projects or buy sprawling penthouses, row houses and bungalows for personal use. The preferred locations are in the suburb between Bandra and Andheri.

Mumbai: Mumbai police have filed five FIRs across the city in connection with the Cockroach Janata Party’s (CJP) protests in the city over the past two days against paper leaks. On Monday, CJP supporters marched from Chaityabhoomi to Plaza Cinema in Dadar. Several of them were detained by the police for violating prohibitory orders which are in place.The police have issued fresh prohibitory orders for the city from July 23 to Aug 6, banning assemblies of five or more persons in public places without permission.An FIR would be filed against those protesting in Dadar on Monday as well. Deputy commissioner of police Mahendra Pandit said, “No permission was granted for holding any protest at Chaityabhoomi, and the process of registering an FIR against those who participated in the protest is underway at Shivaji Park police station.”Monday’s protest began outside Chaityabhoomi, where students, young professionals and activists gathered. While many carried handwritten slogans demanding justice for repeated exam paper leaks and education reforms, one protester waved colours from a Japanese anime as a symbol of “resistance against the system.” Some held up copies of the Constitution’s Preamble and chanted “Jai Bhim” and “Inquilab Zindabad.”Minutes after the march began, police detained several protesters and dispersed the gathering. The crowd then regrouped near a restaurant, where slogans were raised again through the evening traffic.The protesters then marched towards Plaza Cinema. By the time they reached R K Vaidya Road, their numbers had thinned and they occupied part of the carriageway. Police then detained those leading the demonstration and cleared the road. Because of rain, more and more protestors disappeared into the columns of passersby.A nursing student from Terna Medical College who had joined the protest said, “I am studying nursing today because I could not secure admission to medical college after the 2023-24 NEET paper leak. There is a constant feeling of guilt that I could not become a doctor. Every year, there is a paper leak or some other failure in the education system, promised reforms have never materialised.” He added, “We were told the National Education Policy would transform education. The Finland model would be adopted. But where is the planning? Where is the implementation? Where is skill education?”For some, frustration extended well beyond paper leaks. “We are protesting for education and for everything people deal with in everyday life,” said Ravi Chaure (22), a recent graduate of Dadar Catering College, who learnt about the protest through social media. “Corruption has seeped into every aspect of life. I graduated from one of the biggest colleges in this area and I still cannot find a job. Every year we keep discussing the same issues. We need justice.”As police attempted to clear another group of demonstrators, an elderly constable appealed to a cluster of young women standing with placards. “You are protesting for a rightful cause,” he told them. “But there is no permission to protest here.”

BMC hopes to begin construction next month

Mumbai: BMC plans to integrate the city’s first seawater desalination plant at Manori with Mumbai’s existing water distribution network through a 7.2km underground tunnel to Charkop and further to Mahavir Nagar in Kandivli.A proposal seeking approval to award the contract at Rs 2,241.3 crore to Afcons Infrastructure Ltd for its design, construction and operation as well as for associated infrastructure is scheduled to be placed before the civic standing committee on Wednesday. The water tunnel alone will account for more than half the estimated cost of the Rs 4,077-crore desalination project at Manori.BMC hopes to begin construction next month and is targeting a timeline of 45 months.Afcons Infrastructure had emerged as the lowest bidder after negotiations, reducing its original quote to Rs 1,575 crore for core works. The total outlay for the tunnel includes GST, contingencies, operation and maintenance and other components.The proposed tunnel will run 4.6km from Manori to MNP Udyan at Charkop and another 2.6km to Mahavir Nagar. It will be excavated at a depth of 104-128m using two tunnel boring machines operating simultaneously from Manori and Mahavir Nagar.“The project includes construction of three deep shafts at Manori, Charkop and Mahavir Nagar, a pumping station at Manori designed for an ultimate capacity of 400 million litres per day (MLD), transmission mains, product water tanks, valve chambers, SCADA integration (for monitoring and controlling processes) and other allied infrastructure. While the pumping station will ultimately be capable of handling 400 MLD, mechanical and electrical systems for the first phase will initially be installed for 200 MLD, matching the capacity of the first phase of the desalination plant,” said an official.A senior civic official said the tunnel will allow nearly 190 MLD of water currently supplied from Bhandup to be reallocated to other parts of the city, improving the overall efficiency of Mumbai’s water supply network. “A very small quantum of water is currently required around Manori. Therefore, most of the desalinated water will be conveyed to the western suburbs through the existing network.”BMC has issued a public notice inviting objections from citizens and owners of properties on the tunnel’s alignment.Mumbai’s current daily water demand is around 4,600 MLD against an available supply of about 4,100 MLD. The desalination project has been conceived to bridge this gap and reduce the city’s dependence on rainfall-fed lakes, which have become increasingly vulnerable to erratic monsoons and climate change.

Mumbai: After initially debarring several law and BEd colleges from this year’s admission process, Mumbai University has allowed them to participate in it, but with hefty fines and a substantial cut in student intake. In some cases, the university issued affiliation certificates, but they have now been cancelled.The university reduced the intake capacity by 50% for 39 law and 29 BEd colleges that do not have an approved principal or a single approved teacher on their rolls. Additionally, it has imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on each. In another category of colleges, which have less than 50% approved teachers, the university has cut the student intake by 25% and has asked them to pay a fine of Rs 5 lakh each. In the second category, there are 11 law colleges and 23 BEd colleges. Some of these colleges plan to move court against the university’s decision.This is the first time the university has taken such stringent action against affiliated colleges for failing to appoint approved teachers. The collective reduction in intake is expected to affect around 6,000 to 8,000 seats during the ongoing admission season.In a letter sent to a law college on Monday, the university stated that the affiliation certificate issued for the 2026-27 academic year stands null and void. It said the certificate had been issued due to a technical error by the affiliation department and added that any students admitted beyond the revised 75% intake capacity will not be enrolled by the university. The college will be solely responsible for such admissions, it stated.The university’s registrar, Prasad Karande, told TOI that the action taken is only on the basis of lack of approved teachers and that the university has not yet considered infrastructure. A principal said that no local inquiry committee visited their college before issuing such a diktat and therefore, colleges are planning to move court. A university official, though, said these colleges had given an undertaking last year too and did not fulfil the requirements.There are 110 law colleges and 80 BEd colleges affiliated to Mumbai University.

Findings provisional, could change after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) submits its report on injected drug and final post-mortem report is received

Navi Mumbai: A preliminary inquiry by a committee appointed by the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has found no negligence on the part of doctors in the death of an eight-month pregnant woman at Rajmata Jijau Hospital in Airoli earlier this month.The committee concluded that the patient, Sonam Dongre, died after suffering a severe anaphylactic (allergic) reaction to a drug, complicated by food aspiration.However, it said its findings are provisional and could change after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) submits its report on the injected drug and JJ Hospital issues the final post-mortem report.The preliminary report was tabled by NMMC commissioner Kailas Shinde at the corporation’s general body meeting on Monday. It was presented by medical health officer Dr Rajesh Mhatre.Dongre died on July 1, after allegedly developing a severe reaction following an injection administered during treatment, triggering allegations of medical negligence. Another pregnant woman, Richa Mishra, also suffered an adverse reaction but survived.The inquiry committee, headed by Thane civil surgeon Dr Kailash Pawar, included Dr Vijay Kalyankar, head of obstetrics and gynaecology at JJ Hospital, and Dr Suchita Kinjawdekar of the Navi Mumbai Gynaecology and Obstetrics Association. Experts in forensic medicine, pharmaceutical chemistry and anaesthesia were also added to the panel.The committee also examined the case of pregnant patient Pratima Pal, who fell ill during treatment, and reviewed the death of another patient, Pratiksha Khandekar, who died while undergoing treatment on March 17.After visiting the Airoli hospital on July 8, and questioning doctors and other medical staff, the panel submitted its preliminary report on July 20.According to the report, Pal developed only mild side-effects after receiving an Isoxsuprine HCL injection, while Richa Mishra experienced a moderate adverse reaction but recovered. Dongre, however, suffered a severe anaphylactic reaction after being administered a 12mg dexamethasone injection, followed by food aspiration, which the committee said caused her death.The panel said the medical officers at Rajmata Jijau Hospital had followed appropriate treatment protocols and found no evidence of negligence. The final report will be submitted after the FDA’s analysis of the drug and the final post-mortem findings are received.Dongre was admitted to the Airoli hospital on June 30, after developing cramps in the eighth month of her pregnancy. As there was a possibility of premature delivery, she was administered dexamethasone around 3pm on July 1, to accelerate the baby’s lung development and reduce the risk of breathing problems.“Soon after the injection, her condition deteriorated and she became unconscious. When she turned critical, she was shifted to NMMC Hospital in Vashi at around 5.40pm. She did not respond to treatment and was declared dead at 6.15pm,” Mhatre said. He added that Richa Mishra was administered dexamethasone and Duvadilan injections; the latter is used to relax the uterine muscles and prevent premature labour. — George Mendonca